On the Road Again Tour

The On The Road AgainTour (also referred to as OTRA or OTRAT) is One Direction's fourth headlining tour. It was announced on May 19, 2014 and began on February 7, 2015. It concluded on October 31, 2015.

In April 2015, Billboard[1] announced the OTRA Tour was the top grossing Hot Tour after the completion of the first leg. During that leg, the tour garnered $62 million in ticket sales. In July 2015, Billboard announced in their Midyear Touring Report that OTRA was again the top grossing tour of 2015, bringing in $81 million dollars, around $40 million more than runners-up The Foo Fighters.[2] In October 2015, Billboard reported OTRA's North American leg had earned the band $80.6 million, bringing the entire tour's total earnings to $188 million.[3] In January 2016, Pollstarpro.com announced it was the top earning tour of 2015 with $210.2 million earned and 2,364,390 tickets sold.[4]

It was Zayn Malik's final tour with the band, he exited the group in March, shortly before the first leg was completed.

Contents

Background

The tour was announced on May 19, 2014 on Twitter[5] and Facebook. The dates for the first 19 shows - which were in in Australia, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Philippines, Indonesia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates - were released ranging from early February till the end of April. 23 shows in Europe and the USA were later added from early June until early September. A following 6 Canadian dates were added. Due to the high demand for tickets, numerous extra shows were added.

Announcements

A video was released on May 10, 2014 from the boys, announcing that they'd be playing in the Philippines for one show in Manila on March 21, 2015[6].

Another video was released on May 18, 2014 where the boys announced they would be performing live in South Africa for the "very first time next year" on March 28th, 29th and April 1, 2015 in 2 different stadiums[7].

The Australian shows were announced during an interview on the Australian breakfast tv show "Today"[8]. Niall revealed they'd be playing shows in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth in stadiums where some of the biggest sporting teams had also played.

The Singapore announcement video was released on May 19, 2014 revealing the date and location of the concert: March 11th and the "New National Stadium", respectively[9].

The Dubai announcement video was also released on May 19th and consists of the boys telling fans the date of the show (April 5, 2015) and to "keep up with up and all the news about our first ever Dubai show by liking One Direction Dubai on facebook"[10].

The Japan announcement video was also released on May 19th, and in it they revealed they would be in Japan in February 2015 and expressed how "amazing it was last time" and that they "can't wait to be there again"[11].In the Thailand announcement video, which was also released on May 19th, they confirmed they would "finally" be playing in Bangkok in Rajamangala Stadium on March 14th[12].

In the Indonesia announcement, also released on May 19th, they said that they "can't wait to see you" and revealed the date (Wednesday, March 25, 2015) and the venue (Stadium Utama Gelora Bung Karno[13]).Hong Kong was also announced on May 19th. In the video, Harry said that "we cannot wait to come and see you" and revealed the date to be March 18, 2015[14].

On October 23, 2014, they tweeted[15], alongside the reminder of a 5th clip from the "Steal My Girl" video, that they had a special announcement" at 4pm. The tweet[16] at 4pm revealed that they had released European and USA dates to the previously announced dates. On October 24th they released another set of dates for Canada[17].

Developments

The tour setup did not significantly change after Zayn's departure in March. In the week before his official exit from the group, after being signed off for stress, the band left a space for him in many of their group set-ups, most notably in their formation during Harry's solo for "What Makes You Beautiful". During one performance, Liam placed his hand in the space where Zayn would usually be standing. After Malik's official exit, the group changed the formation several times, standing arm in arm for one performance, and back to back for another.

In the shows immediately after Zayn's departure, fans began bringing signs saying "Til The End" to shows, for the group to see. Liam acknowledged the signs during the Dubai April 4 show saying "Til the end, everybody. We are One Direction and we are here to stay".[18]

On May 28, 2015, Niall confirmed on Twitter that the setlist had been changed for the European and North American legs, in order to feature more songs from Four.[19]

On June 1, 2015, it was announced that the OTRA Tour would be presented in the USA by the Honda Civic Tour[20] and that Swedish duo Icona Pop would be the support act.

On June 13, "No Control" and "18" were officially added to the setlist. On July 9, "Spaces" and "Act My Age" were officially added to the setlist, while "Strong" was removed. On July 15, "Spaces" was removed from the setlist.

On July 21, "Fireproof" was officially added to the setlist. The concert was marred slightly by claims from online fans that the crowd appeared not lively enough. Liam tweeted "TBH (to be honest), I think every crowd we sing to is the loudest...I thought that was a good thing that worldwide you're the best fans? Don't you? Never mind, thanks Edmonton, you were aces" in response to a meme referencing the claims.

On July 27 Honda Civic uploaded the first part of a tour diary video to One Direction's official YouTube page. On September 4, part 2 was uploaded. On October 8, part 3 was uploaded.

On July 31st less than 24 hours after its official release, "Drag Me Down" was officially added to the setlist. The band thanked fans for the overwhelming success the single garnered.

From the beginning of the UK leg, the setlist order was completely changed and "Infinity" was partially performed acoustically on September 24, after the band encountered technical difficulties during "Night Changes". Ed Sheeran's protege Jamie Lawson and American rock band Augustana were support acts.

On October 16, "Perfect" was officially added to the setlist, replacing "Diana".

On October 20, the Belfast concert was cancelled after Liam became too ill to perform. The cancellation was made at the last minute, after the support act had finished performing. Harry, Louis and Niall all tweeted shortly afterward, apologizing.

During the final concert in Sheffield, the band played "Act My Age" several times in a row while their family and staff danced in the front row. Liam's dad led a conga line through the crowd. As the show was ending, Harry and Louis hugged, marking their first public or on stage interaction in years.